The Tarnished Crown: Princess Diana and the House of Windsor

by Anthony Holden

An insider's view of the House of Windsor from 1917 to the present offers shocking details about the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. By the author of Prince Charles. 100,000 first printing. Tour.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

401 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Anthony Holden is an English writer, broadcaster and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it. Very cumbersome to read. Didn't really talk about princess Diana at all. If I had a dollar for everytime the author mentioned that the queen didn't pay taxes, I would be as rich as the Queen.

[Lara Pearce-Tripp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting view from the 1990s
Would be good if the author could do a follow up as so much has changed.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very bitter man wrote this book, apparently. I did not appreciate the constant sarcasm and belittling of the royal family, especially when he had nothing to back up his distaste of them. His long-winded declarations of the poison that is the royal family got very old, very fast.

The book was factual, for sure, however, I could have done without all the bias.

I also could have done without the constant use of Latin phrases for no reason other than to make himself appear smarter. I say this because the Latin phrases weren't common and had nothing to do with the subjects in the book, but were rather just the Latin translation for phrases he was trying to say. This just slowed down the reading and irritated me.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was written at the time the royals were going through so many upheavals that the queen herself called it "annus horribilis". The author covers in the last chapter of the book a national debate on the future of the constitutional monarchy. If the reader is a devoted royal fan...this book is probably not for you. But if you were thinking or hoping to become a royal then this could be required reading. Perhaps it may be a job you should not aspire to unless you were 'born royal' and even then, it does not appear to be easy. Just an personal observation from someone who is a fan of the royal family...maybe it is time for royal families to be a thing of the past.

[Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Anthony Holden's best book by any means. It's out of date, being published several years before Diana's death. The information about Prince Charles' activities in architecture, gardening and civic causes is also outdated, and some of the information has since been proven to be slightly incomplete.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 2 out of 5]

the author's biases show in this recap of the scandals plaguing the modern royal family.